New Jersey Governor Vetoes Gestation Crate Bill

Despite the Garden State legislature approving a statute that bans confining sow cages, the law will not go into effect.

In May, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill that would prohibit the use of gestation crates on Garden State factory farms, but Governor Chris Christie recently vetoed the bill, noting that the responsibility of enforcing “the proper balancing of humane treatment of gestation pigs with the interests of farmers,” should be left to the New Jersey Board of Agriculture and Department of Agriculture. Despite the setback, animal-welfare groups remain hopeful, “I'm confident this bill will become law, one way or the other,” said Paul Shapiro, vice president of the Farm Animal Protection Sector of the Humane Society of the United States, as quoted by Reuters.